Seattle Not Very Cycle Friendly

Let's take a look at another form of alternative transportation—one that I have some personal experience in—cycling. We're all supposed to do our part to reduce traffic, and although Seattle's weather isn't the most ideal for it (to put it lightly), cycling is generally an attractive option for relatively short commutes. Unfortunately, for all the green talk, Seattle isn't a very cycle-friendly city.

"The Burke-Gilman Trail is fabulous," said Severtson, 51, a programmer who often bikes from his Ballard home to Microsoft in Redmond. "But other than that, the network isn't as well-connected."

It's not easy navigating the streets of the Puget Sound region on a bike, according to the Cascade Bicycle Club, which recently mapped out a 1,521-mile bicycle network and found that 27 percent of the area's roads and trails aren't suitable for cycling.

There were "missing links" in the network with no alternative routes, the club found. There weren't enough signs, and busy bike trails and connections were closed at night.

Limited bike storage space on buses crossing the Evergreen Point Bridge forced cyclists to keep waiting at bus stops.

The region should make major improvements to its bicycle trails and facilities, especially filling in gaps between areas that draw large cycling populations, the report recommends.

Fortunately my bicycle commute is 90% Burke-Gilman/Sammamish River trail, where the only real complaint is tree roots pushing up the pavement in a few places. However, you would think that with all the anti-car sentiment around here, there would be more effort put into improving conditions for bicycles. I mean, the bureaucrats in government that go out of their way to socially engineer us out of our cars, but it takes a private cycle club to push for better roads and trails for bicycles? That's rather messed up.

(Phuong Cat Le & Larry Lange, Seattle P-I, 04.14.2006)